By james art 
NEW ORLEANS — The Dallas Mavericks are set to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. However, they will be without Kyrie Irving, who was ruled out with a sprained lower back. However, Irving made his initial return from the injury on Tuesday in the Mavs’ 118-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Despite not playing in Wednesday’s second game, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd believes Irving could potentially return Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I think he’ll be ready for the next game,” Kidd told reporters before Wednesday’s contest.
As mentioned, Irving played on Tuesday. Overall, it seems to be moving in a promising direction. Irving’s availability for Friday’s game will obviously be important, as the Mavs will play the best team in the Western Conference in the Thunder, who currently hold a 6.5-game lead over the second-place Houston Rockets. On Wednesday, however, the Mavericks play a Pelicans team that is in last place in the West.
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Still, the Mavs can’t overlook the Pelicans. New Orleans has a talented roster, but like Dallas, they’re dealing with no shortage of injuries. It will certainly be difficult to get a win on the road without Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Derek Lively II and Dante Exum. However, this is a deep Mavericks team and they will remain confident in their ability to get the job done on the road.
As for Kyrie Irving’s injury, though, there’s a realistic chance the superstar guard could return Friday against the Thunder. However, nothing is guaranteed as of the writing of this story.
As for Wednesday night’s Mavericks-Pelicans game, tip-off is set for 8:00 PM EST in New Orleans as the Mavericks look to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss with a decisive win.